The passions hockey stirs in Canadians are evident throughout the year, whether the game is being played by boys or girls, men or women, on the ponds, in the streets, or in local arenas across the country. So, it was an eye-opener for me to read a book called Off the Post from a guy from Finland, who has as much passion for the game as any Canuck. Risto Pakarinen is a Finnish freelance journalist based in Stockholm, Sweden. He’s a regular contributor to The Hockey News and the National Hockey League’s nhl.com. He has covered numerous World Hockey Championships and worked for the NHL during the World Cup tournaments in 1996 and 2004.
My conversation with Risto touches on many parts of his book, as well as where hockey is headed at the highest levels of the sport.
“This is a must-read for the hockey fan, whether hard-core or casual. The tales are well-told, whimsical and thoughtful all at the same time.”
Brian Burke, General Manager
Anaheim Ducks
“Through his dedication, desire and motivation Risto has become one of the premier hockey journalists around the globe, his unique style of writing about the game captures the reader from the opening line … for Risto, it is a lot more than just a game. It is his life.”
Philip Pritchard, Vice President
Hockey Hall of Fame, “Keeper of the Cup”
When I first learned of Mrs. B’s Patriotworld Podcast, I was listening to C.C. Chapman’s Managing the Gray podcast. This was about a year ago when I first started listening to podcasts. When I decided to give my own podcast a whirl, I knew that I wanted to find out more about this woman who was so passionate about the New England Patriots. Over the course of NFL training camp, I listened to three or four episodes from Mrs. B. She is a great resource for Pats fans and tremendous ambassador for the team. Her real name is Karen Cardoza and she is without question one of the biggest fans the Patriots have. In my conversation with Karen, we cover her motivation to start podcasting, the lines between traditional and new media, and whether she thinks the Super Bowl is in the cards this year.
The RANT-OF-THE-WEEK comes from a long-time friend and fellow sports nut Dave DeRosa from Ottawa. Along with Tom Pechloff, we covered the Ottawa sports scene back in university broadcasting a show called Breakaway on CKCU-FM.
The inspiration for this, the fourth installment of THE DISHÂ ON SPORTS, came from a column I read a few weeks ago by Michael Geist, the Canada Research Chair of Internet and E-commerce Law at the University of Ottawa. Michael writes a column covering technology law issues called Law Bytes, which appears regularly in the Toronto Star. In his piece, Give the Internet a Sporting Chance, he addresses the growing number of leagues and sports associations trying to assert control over athlete blogging, posting photographs and video online, and even the use of player statistics. We discuss whether sports bloggers will ever be taken seriously as legitimate media.
The RANT-OF-THE-WEEK offers a little humour from Terry Fallis of the Inside PR podcast. Surely, he could not be serious in singing the praises of this particular member of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
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